The Beauty of Creative Writing Dies if Writers Allow Themselves To Be Muzzled To Conform.” Ever Obi (An Interview by Haneefah Abdulrahman)

Ever Obi is a fiction writer and business executive based in the Netherlands. His debut, Men Don’t Die, was published in 2019, exploring themes of death and spiritualism, and was discussed at the Oxford Literary Festival. His second book, Some Angels Don’t See God, was shortlisted for the ANA Prose Prize. His writing has been categorised as a hybrid of speculative and literary fiction, probing into the spiritual concept of the afterlife, as well as more existent themes of money, love and friendship. He was born and raised in Aba and is a recipient of the 2024 Global Recognition Award.

Haneefah: Why SOME ANGELS DON’T SEE GOD? It is a daring title, if you ask me. How did you come up with the title of the book?

Ever Obi: For some books, you find that you struggle for months, years even, to find the right title. For Some Angels Don’t See God, the eureka moment came quite early. One of the main points of the book is the suffering of Neta, the main character. I needed a title that represents the fact that some humans have become masters of hiding their sufferings. Things are hardly what you expect them to be.

Haneefah: Trauma is an experience almost everybody has had in life one way or the other. What is the essence of Trauma to existence?

Ever Obi: You cannot separate one from the other. Existence is a miracle in itself, but it is also a journey of misfortunes with death as the ultimate truth. When good things happen to us, it is a blessing that we should be grateful for, because life doesn’t owe us anything. When we expect a trauma-free existence, we only set ourselves up for more suffering. Trauma is an undeniable part of existence, and how we live is determined by our acceptance and handling of the experiences that life throws at us.

Haneefah: How do you handle trauma as a writer and as a person?

Ever Obi: I am drawn to the teachings of Buddhism, to its noble truths. Our traumas grow even bigger because of our cravings and expectations, what we think we deserve. There is peace that comes with accepting that misfortunes and suffering are part of life. And the beauty of being a writer is that one can write about these experiences, pouring one’s trauma on the pages of manuscripts.

Haneefah: “When you write a tragic scene, don’t leave the page if it does not break your heart. When you write a sex scene, don’t leave it until it turns you on” these are words from your book. What is the writing process of writing Traumatic books?

Ever Obi: As a fiction writer, through your characters, you get to live a thousand lives in one. To get it right, to believe in your own story, writing traumatic books means you must be immersed in the lives and experiences of your characters, bearing their burdens with them, feeling everything that they feel. It is only through that level of intimacy that a writer gets it right and becomes that authentic voice that readers trust.

Haneefah: SOME ANGELS DON’T SEE GOD has been described as intense and traumatising. Did you intentionally aim to create a visceral reaction? How did you manage the art of balancing that with a meaningful story?

Ever Obi: I have always said that I always focus on the story. At the end of the day, people will take whatever they can from my work, feel whatever they can, but attempting to sway emotions and get people to feel a particular way is not something I’m interested in. That they feel something, that the book leaves a mark on them, is what every writer would hope for. What that mark is not for me to dictate. Readers should have the freedom of reading and feeling, the same way I enjoyed my freedom of writing it.

Haneefah: What inspired you to explore the sensitive and complex theme of incest as a catalyst for trauma in your SOME ANGELS DON’T SEE GOD? Specifically, how did you intend for the revelation of Neta and Jeta’s relationship to impact the family’s dynamics and downward spiral following their father’s death?”

Ever Obi: Like I have always said, the theme of incest is the most important in the book. As summarily as possible, Some Angels Don’t See God is about an incestuous relationship between two twins and the ramifications of that relationship. I wanted to show that one event, one relationship, can affect an entire life. I wanted to show that everything that happens in Neta’s life, every misfortune can directly or indirectly be linked to that incest. I wanted to show that it is a fallacy to think that the past belongs in the past. We should either accept dealing with its repercussions or we attempt to make amends for it, but it is stupid to think that our past dies automatically. I also wanted to explore incest because it is really something that a lot of us have dealt with, but we have kept mute about it, it could be with uncles, with cousins, etc. It is still prevalent. All I have done is hold up a mirror for us all to face it and talk about it.

Haneefah: Chidinma, the housemaid, kissed Jeta when he was just seven years old, despite Edna, his mother, trusting her completely and defending her, even as she cautioned against the potential dangers of housemaids. Generally speaking, how can one navigate trust in both people and housemaids?

Ever Obi: I think everything about parenting should be deliberate. Parents should be mindful of the people they bring around their children. The job doesn’t end there. We should also raise our children to be bold and expressive. We should talk to our children. Sex education should start as early as possible; they should have an idea of what is wrong. We must invest in relationships where we talk to our children, where we ask questions. The failure is not so much in something wrong happening, but in missing it, allowing it to fester and become irreparable. That was the mistake Jikora and Edna made in raising their twins in Some Angels Don’t See God. They missed a lot of things, things they could have attempted to nip in the bud.

Haneefah: I’d describe your writing as daring and one that breaks conformity. As a writer and as a human, how do you perceive conformity?

Ever Obi: Again, I really do not care about these things. I think there is nothing worse for an artist than art without freedom. The beauty of creative writing dies if writers allow themselves to be muzzled to conform. Eghosa Imasuen said it best: “…to attempt to write for all is to write for no one, is to sacrifice authenticity on the altar of a misunderstanding of universalism…Tell your story honestly, and it will be universal, and will be understood by everyone.”

I am a product of books that I have read, and experiences that I have been through. I write about these things, and whether they conform or not is not something I like to think about. However, this does not mean that my mind is closed to editorial recommendations.

Haneefah: In as much as most Nigerian writers write realistic fiction and most readers would say, Nigerian writers are too sad, then again others say it is the greatest form of escapism. What is your perception of escapism through writing?

Ever Obi: I don’t have any problems with that. Neta, in Some Angels Don’t See God, attempts to escape with her writing; I do that sometimes. If in attempting to escape, one can channel one’s energy from one’s sadness or indignation into something as beautiful as art, then it is worth it and should be encouraged. Energy must be channeled somehow, somewhere. Some people find their escapism in crimes and drugs. If you allow your experiences to lift you into creating something that outlives you, then I’m onboard — a hundred percent.

Haneefah: What’s the role of psychological fiction in the Nigerian society?

Ever Obi: It helps us to understand ourselves better, to understand one another better. When we analyze our flaws without our gavel, without an intention to judge, but from a standpoint of curiosity, to understand our motivations and rationales, we learn how to live better with one another, we learn tolerance and make better decisions. That is what I see as the role of writers, the role of psychological fiction, to remind us that people are humans first before they are thieves and rapists. The focus should not always be on judgment, but on understanding and self-improvement. At the end of the day, we are all nothing, and our advantages over others don’t make us higher humans. We are all bones and meat; we are nothing. We must allow writing and reading to teach us humility.

pHaneefah: What other styles of writing should your readers expect from you in the future?

Ever Obi: I do not worry too much about my style. I focus on the story. Whatever style or devices that tell the story better are instruments that I would willingly apply. But in terms of themes, I would be diving deeper into the main themes of my debut, of spiritualism and the afterlife.

Source: Literature Voices